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We're buying a new car from my mom,

The main option we're looking for is TC or Traction Control.

Her current car, 1999 chevrolet cavalier has it and was sub 20,000$ with a 2.2L engine FWD

i've visited a lot of dealers and it seems impossible to find that option for that price anymore...

any suggestions?

foi. tc is when you're going uphill on a slippery hill and the wheels start to spin, while your foot is still on the pedal, the engine reduces/cuts the power to one wheel, redistributes it the the other /compensates wheelspin and the car keeps going

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traction_control_system
why would anyone need TCS in a small car totally useless. For your information traction control was made for high performance cars to accomodate the high horse power of the engine and increase the cars grip on corners and during launch. And for it to work the car should also have ABS. You better find a car with Esp which would be a wiser choice.
-DNA- wrotewhy would anyone need TCS in a small car totally useless.
uphill 40 - 45 deg incline with a sharp turn in winter( rain and sand) - has to be driven everyday as we live in a building at the bottom of that slope

as for ESP, most of the time esp includes TC so i'm fine with that too

thanks for your feedback, did you read my post?
u didnt mention the road condition where u live anyway if it has to be driven everyday it makes sense. i know that all esp has tc i suggested that because you would benefit more from it than tc alone. Anyway I'll see if i can find you a car
Traction control is about the only thing that works properly in the Chevrolet Cavalier :)

I think it is also because it is built with most of it's weight on the front tires, and it comes equipped with relatively large winter tires. I was once driving up to Faraya in my Chevrolet Cavalier and I overtook a Range Rover that was sliding sideways and backwards and failing to go anywhere. That can't be only the TC, although the TC had shown itself to be very useful in a couple of occasions. I suspect it uses the brakes to keep the individual front wheels from spinning on top of cutting power (but I'm not sure at all!). As I said before, It's probably also the weight distribution of the car. That would explain why the car's back would be so quick to betray you on slippery roads: there's very little weight pushing down on it!

In any case, stay away from small FWD cars with small tires, most of them will have a closer to 50/50 weight distribution, with much less weight on the front tires. You don't want that, especially since the car would be already light to start with! In such a situation, a solution would be to drive the hill up backwards, which would put more weight on the front tires, but I doubt anyone wants your mom to be doing that.

Normally, a 50/50 weight distribution is actually desirable. That is why it's hard to find a car like the Cavalier nowadays. If you once had the misfortune of driving the Cavalier on a slippery road and have the back slide away, you will see why a 50/50 weight distribution is more desirable!

A second hand BMW might do the trick, since they're RWD and usually are equipped with TC by default. I think small Peugeots also come with ESP (hence TC), but due to the weight distribution it might not be good enough. I think you should test the car in the situation you intend it for before buying it. A Subary (with AWD) would be perfect, but I don't know if any can be found in that price range.

I can't really help you much more on this question, I don't know much about the newest deals on the market. But I thought I'd share my experience.
Audi are the best for this kind of stuff (quattro, in other words advanced 4WD), but sadly they're no where near 20,000$.